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Philips comments on the election of patent EP1044400 to be "software patent of September":

Simple user-friendly solution for complex problem

Philips feels again honoured that patent EP1044400 has been nominated for the "Nosoftwarepatent-Award of September", because it is indeed NOT a Software Patent. The patent describes a technical invention to simplify the complex time-consuming manual work to program a universal remote control to just a few seconds of waiting for a personal profile on your screen.

The invention is currently used in the Philips Pronto family of products, a new class of innovative, programmable touch screen remote controls for intuitive operation. The invention makes it much easier for users to download their personal profile, putting buttons and personal information exactly in the right way on the screen. An active Internet community, encouraged by Philips, adds profiles to the database, making the Pronto system to an even more elaborated personalized control solution.

No reason for concern

It is clear from the patent description that the invention applies to universal remote controls, telephones and household appliances. Therefore, concern expressed by the autors of NoSoftwarePatents.com that this invention would apply to PCs in general is unfounded.

Successful products with Philips inventions and Open Source

The iPronto family of products is another example how Philips combines its own inventions with Open Source solutions. The iPronto was developed with Open Source Software such as Linux. Today this successful product has evolved into an integrated control solution for conventional home theatre, multimedia content and lighting. With a combination of infrared control and WIFI wireless control, the iPronto provides true multi-room control.

Every day parallel misses the point

Philips believes that the everyday parallel as stated on the Nosoftwarepatents-Award website misses the point and is happy to meet the first "specialist" who can select the right personal profile out of thousands of possibilities in just a few seconds. We think complex technical problems can only be solved by the perseverance of inventors, who work year-in, year-out to find suitable user-friendly solutions.

2.5 billion Euros in R&D and a work force of 18.000 inventors

With a yearly investment of 2.5 billion Euros in research and development and a work force of 18.000 inventors, we use our intellectual property in various ways to create benefit for society, value for the company and to allow us to make a reasonable return on our huge investment in innovation.

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